At Cersaie the historic alliance between ceramics and archistars is staged

It is no longer just a business platform for all players in the ceramics supply chain, from manufacturers to installers. It is also a vast space for the transmission of knowledge, starting with that on the new design scenarios at a global level. The 41st edition of Cersaie, the International Exhibition of Ceramic Tile and Bathroom Furnishings - from tomorrow to 27 September in the halls of BolognaFiere - confirms this. "Once again, the event is a place for business relations between the supply chain and the various operators and visitors, both Italian and foreign, who meet manufacturers, distributors, architects, installers," says Emilio Mussini, chairman of Confindustria Ceramica's Promotional Activities and Trade Fairs Committee. "It is a container where each category finds its own space to express its various skills.

A business piazza but also a cultural piazza since when, it was 2009, with the debut of the "Building, Dwelling, Thinking" exhibition, Cersaie inaugurated the season of the archistars, with Renzo Piano. A tradition that will be renewed again this year with the presence of Japanese architect Riken Yamamoto, winner of the Pritzker Prize 2024, who will give his lectio magistralis on 26 September (11 a.m.) in the Sala Europa of the Palazzo dei Congressi. Yamamoto is the latest in a long list of world-famous designers who have chosen Cersaie to seal, as Mussini notes, "the leading role taken by ceramics in the world of great architecture".

A prestigious name to which two others will be added: the Belgian David Van Severen, with his idea of architecture understood as a cultural commitment to improve the human environment, and the Frenchman Rudy Ricciotti, with his visionary design (both, on 25 September, at The Square Auditorium). A consolidation of the new pact between ceramics - which for years has been cleared of traditional uses - and architecture against the backdrop of a sold-out show, spread over 15 pavilions for a surface area of 145 thousand square metres, with 606 exhibitors, 38% of whom foreigners from 25 countries.

"An exhibition that also aspires to be a place for the development of industrial policies capable of driving a green transition that must hold together sustainability, employment, and business profitability," Mussini points out. The heart of the event is the new layout of the Service Centre, which becomes The Square, a one thousand square metre area, designed by architect Dario Curatolo, conceived to host conferences, a bookshop dedicated to design, Radio 24 and a lounge: the 15th edition of 'Costruire, abitare, pensare' will also be held here. And from here, after the inaugural conference at the Palazzo dei Congressi (at 11 a.m. on 23 September), a proposal will unfold that brings together all the pieces of a supply chain that combines business relations and cultural programmes, innovation and new ideas. The sector most strongly represented is ceramic tiles, with 55% of the total, followed by bathroom furnishings, non-ceramic surfaces and installation companies. The format of the "Press Cafés" has been confirmed again, now in its ninth edition, a space for discussion and debate on new trends in design, architecture and town planning among experts and trade publications. New instead are the seminars on professional training as well as the Career Days (26 and 27 September), meetings between 26 exhibiting companies on the hunt for talent and recent graduates and undergraduates, in cooperation with the Universities of Bologna, Modena and Reggio Emilia, and Ferrara. Also reconfirmed is "Cersaie designs your home", with consultations for individuals by designers from Italian interior design magazines.

Thanks to the cooperation of Ita and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there were also numerous foreign delegations, including architectural firms, distributors, installers, and contract operators. A total of 230 guests from Europe, the USA, Canada, countries in the Gulf area, Africa and South East Asia were invited to weave an international network of relations and collaborations. Lastly, the presentation of the Ceramics of Italy Tile competition, an architectural competition that awards prizes to the best projects realised in Europe with Italian ceramics, is worth mentioning.